In many hydrocarbon well applications, electric submersible pumping (ESP) systems are used for pumping fluids, e.g. hydrocarbon-based fluids. For example, the ESP system may be conveyed downhole on a well string and used to pump oil from a downhole wellbore location to a surface collection location along a fluid flow path. The ESP system is supplied with AC electrical power from the surface via a power cable routed downhole along the well string. The power cable is coupled with a submersible motor of the ESP system via a connector sometimes referred to as a pothead. The pothead may be coupled to a motor lead extension (MLE) which is part of the overall power cable used to supply electrical power to the ESP system. Coupling existing pothead structures to the submersible motor can be difficult, and existing potheads are sometimes susceptible to leakage.
Additionally power cable couplings may be formed between, for example, sections of the power cable and/or between the MLE and the upper portion of the overall power cable. Such couplings also may be difficult, e.g. time-consuming, and sometimes susceptible to leakage. In deep well applications, sections of power cable may be spliced together to provide a power cable long enough to extend downhole to the ESP system. The splices/couplings are formed at the surface, e.g. on the rig, and splicing difficulty can increase the time and expense associated with the deployment of the well string, including the ESP system.